The Terminal
by MasterChief60
Summary: The nightmares have ensnared the Winx Girls in a chasm of torment and terror. Spears rise, monsters thrash, and the Overloard is always watching. Rated for angst and blood. Main characters are Tecna and Bloom. Complete. TXT BXPS SXB RXM
1. The Terminal

A story about Winx Club generally focused around Tecna and Bloom. In progress, stick around for more. This story is posted in many different places around the internet. Anywho, enjoy! XD I'm like, just 13.

CHAPTER ONE: THE NIGHTMARE

There was no light.

Not even the DigiLuminater could create enough light to see.

Tecna struggled to remain steady in her balance, but she found herself tumbling to the floor. She couldn't see anything, but she could definatly hear something. A growl rumbled from the darkness, and it seemed to come from all directions- a surroundsound roar. Tecna shivered with fear and tried to stay calm, she wanted to scream but the very sound came out only as a muffled yelp.

The roar came closer. She could now see five pairs of red eyes, blinking in the darkness. She threw her hands over her head and stayed as close to the ground as possible. She shut her eyes and shivered. She felt the creatures' breath on her back... any minute and she would be devoured...

"Tecna?" Tecna opened her eyes. Her breath was rapid as she sat up. She yelped as she noticed Musa staring at her. "Wha... what's going on?" She said. Her eyes were wide with terror. "You must've had a nightmare, gal!" Musa said worriedly. "What was going on? You were like, freaking out or something." Tecna looked over at the clock. It was three in the morning. All the Winx girls were standing over her with worried looks. "Darkness..." The digital girl said. "I can still hear them..." She said and shivered."Still hear WHAT?" Stella asked. "What are you talking about, I'm wasting time when I should be getting my beauty sleep!" Tecna frowned. "I... I don't know... but this thing... in my dream..." Tecna hesitated. "It was so real... I could actually feel something..." Flora smiled. "Honey, you know dreams seem real sometimes, and there's nothing you can do about it..." Tecna faced her, tears welling up in her eyes. "But that's just it, Flora, it IS real... its almost like a portal or something..."

"Come on, Tecna, its just a dream!" Bloom said. "Now lets get back to bed. Tecna, don't worry. Everythings gonna be alright." The girls slowly left back into their rooms. Tecna's teeth chattered but she remained calm enough to try and get back to sleep...

She was surrounded by darkness. Five pairs of red eyes blinked in the midnight glare. Tecna fell to her knees with her hands over her head as the monster approached. She could feel its breath on her back as it attemted to eat her- to tear into her flesh.

"Look out, Tecna!" Shouted a voice in the darkness. Just as the creatures' teeth penetrated her skin, she was surrounded by light as a shrill sound came from the monsters. They were driven back into the shadows. "Tecna... I didn't think I'd find YOU here..." It was Timmy. She looked up at him and smiled, her eyes teary. "Timmy! How did you get in here? I thought this is was a dream."

Timmy hugged her and said, "It IS a dream, Tecna- but its a REAL dream. Tecna, its the Terminal." Tecna faced him and raised an eyebrow. "Terminal?" She asked. "I've heard rumors about it back in Techno Dust, but... I didn't think it was real." Timmy frowned and said, "Its as real as I am seeing you right now. Its supposed to be a relic never to be found, but someone found it. Unluckily for us, someone's targeting us. You, me, and all your friends will be soon put into this nightmare." Tecna backed away. "No... it must be the Witches! They must've activated the Terminal!"

Timmy nodded. "They're trying to get rid of us so that they can get to Bloom! They're after the Dragonfire again." Timmy looked over his shoulder. "They're coming back, we have to hide. My flashlight won't last much longer." As the two ran for cover, Tecna asked, "Can we get out of here if something wakes us up?" Timmy nodded. "I hope you have your alarm set..."BRRRRRIIIIIINNNNGGG!

Tecna gasped and shot up from her sleep. Sweat beaded her forehead as she looked down. Safe in her room. For now. "So did you have another nightmare?" Musa asked from in her closet, getting dressed. "Yes..." Tecna said. "But I know what it is now. Its the Terminal..."

Musa came out of the closet, confused. "What's a Terminal? Some kind of hip-hop band name?" Tecna shook her head. "Worse. Its an ancient artifact that summons real nightmares... Who knows, you could be next..." Tecna shivered. They had to figure out a way to stop the Terminal without sleeping- but they needed sleep! They couldn't go for days without sleep...

Silently Tecna got ready. Musa hadn't questioned her about the "terminal" because she was afraid of it. It could be a weapon sent by the Witches, or it could be an accident. Whatever it was, it had to be stopped before the fairys were killed from the inside-out. They had to stop it before they would be killed in their dreams.

Tecna couldn't take her mind of the Terminal as she walked down the hallway with Bloom, Stella, Flora, and Musa. Bloom opened the door to Professor WizGiz's transformation class. "Good morning girls." Said the Professor. "Are we ready to start the lesson?" He asked. "Today we'll be studying transformations of the higher levels. Today you'll be transforming into cats."

Tecna couldn't concentrate. Her mind was focused on the Terminal. Who was next? And how will Icy get the Dragonfire?

Bloom was next.

After being woken up by Daphne constantly, she hadn't had much sleep, and found herself drifting off to sleep on her desk in class. This sometimes happened, but the nightmare she was going to have might threaten her very life...Bloom gasped. "Whats going on?" She asked herself. She was surrounded by darkness. She held her hand in front of her face and twiddled her fingers but she couldn't even see them it was so dark. She looked around, trying to find out where she was.

Suddenly there was a growl so deep that the ground beneth Bloom's feet shook. Terror filled Bloom's eyes aas she noticed the red dots, blinking in the distance. "Who are you?" She tried to say but her voice was choked.

She then remembered Tecna. Tecna also had this dream! What was going on? Bloom looked around but all she could see were the two red eyes- and she could hear them growling... growling...

Bloom's teeth chattered as she tried to excape but the red eyes drew closer and closer...

Bloom screamed as the creature drew near, she couldn't see anything but its eyes but the red eyes were almost pouncing upon her... She felt horrible pain as the creature's jaws clenched on her arm...

"Bloom!" WizGiz said and shook her. Bloom screamed and suddenly woke. Her arm was throbbing with pain. "Bloom what's going on, your arm is bleeding." Bloom gasped. The dream was real! The same thing was happening to Tecna that morning- now everything was clear to her.

"I had a nighmare, Professor... it was real!" Bloom said and gasped. "Well, usually I'd say nightmares just SEEM real but judging by the injury on your arm..." WizGiz paused. "I'd say its the Terminal, but that would be out of context..." Tecna shot up from her desk. "It IS the Terminal! I met Timmy in my dream last night and he told me everything!"

WizGiz paused. "Uh-oh." He said. "Looks like we'll have to find a solution to this... Someone's activated the Terminal and is targeting you girls... I never thought the Terminal could be found..." The elf scratched his head. "In the meantime, Bloom, you go to the nurse and get a bandage for your arm." Tecna groaned. How would she ever stay awake for days and days without being pulled into the Terminal nightmares?

The day drifted slowly into night. Finally the five girls were able to converse about the Terminal- its power... its belongings... its fate on hands... everything.

"We'll just have to not sleep tonight I guess." Bloom said. "But what about Timmy? He could be trapped and be needing help!" Tecna said. "And besides, we can't go forever without sleep!" Musa nodded. "I guess we'll all just have to find a way into Tecna and Blooms' dreams and figure out a way to live through the dreams in that world AND deactivate the Terminal in OUR world."

Flora nodded. "That's probably our best choice of action. We'll find a way to survive the dreams and stop the Terminal when we're awake."

Bloom looked over at the clock. "Well, its midnight." She yawned. "Lets get ready..." She slowly walked back into her room. Kiko was fast asleep- luckily for him, bunnies don't have dreams...

Tecna turned out her lights and slipped into her nightshirt- a purple t-shirt with a green arrow pointing both ways, and of course, her favorate green shorts. "Ready for the nightmare?" She asked Musa. Her roommate smiled, "Oh, I was BORN ready!"

Tecna smiled and climbed into her bed and tried to get to sleep, but the fear of getting into the nightmare kept her from doing so. 'But what if the others have already gotten in and need help?' she asked herself and took a deep breath. Slowly and successfully, she was sucked into the next demension.

"Tecna. You were the last to get here, unluckily." Bloom said. "We were able to set up this flashlight so the monsters can't get us. We're looking for Timmy and everyone else..." Tecna nodded. "I'm sure he can find us, he can't be too far away..." Suddenly they heard him scream for help from far away!

"What did I say?" Tecna said with a weak smile. She, Musa, Flora, Stella, and Bloom Winxed and flew over to the area where Timmy called for help in with the flashlight. They all gasped in fright at what they saw.

It was the first time Tecna had ever laid her eyes on one of the creatures. It was a hideous, bulkey creature with a hard shell-like armor plating, pincers, bloodthirsty red eyes, large spikes running down its back, and a tail with an axelike point. It was an Armored Axetail, a visious destructive beast capable of power beyond limitations. And it had managed to grab hold of Tecna's boyfriend and had torn up half of his arm.

"TIMMY!" Tecna cried and blasted a wave of digital energy towards the Axetail. It moaned and faced her with angry eyes, leaving Timmy just enough time to excape. The creature then roared and 'spit' a wave of green energy blasts onto Tecna, causing her to fall with a crash before she could bring up a Firewall to protect her. She was too weak to regain her footing...

"SUN POWER!" Stella said, creating an attack of pure light, slamming it into the axetail. The creature moaned, blinded by the light, and sank into the shadows. Everyone sighed with relief and returned to the ground. "Are you ok, Timmy?" Flora said, concerned for him. "I think so... but when I get back into the real world I'm gonna have to get more then a few bandaids..." He managed to give a weak smile. "But I'm really worried for Tecna the way she sustained those green energy balls like that... A number of things could have happened to her."

Timmy knealt down beside her and waved his hand in front of her eyes. "How many fingers?" He asked, holding up four. Tecna blinked and replied, "Three? No... two? No... five? I... I don't know, everythings... spinning..." She replied and suddenly passed out. The other girls watched, their hearts fell. "So what happened?" Musa asked Timmy.

"Well, don't expect to know the same old Tecna when you all wake up this morning..." Timmy replied and his head hung. "We still have to find Brandon, Sky, and Riven so I'll just... carry her... and we'll be all set." He felt flattered as he lifted up Tecna. He neverknew he could do this- she was his secret admirer. He hoped that she and the others would be okay in the end...

CHAPTER 2: OVERLOARD

The night was still young, and all the Winx girls were still ensnared in the nightmare. Timmy had located a small cave, and luckily for them, it wasn't inhabited by anything. Timmy laid Tecna on the ground, gently, and took off his Red Fountain cape, laying it on the unconscious Digital fairy. Quickly he took a small device out of his pocket and pressed a button in it and waved it over Tecna. The gadjet beeped and Timmy pressed another button.

"What in the Realms is he doing?" Musa asked Stella. Stella shrugged, "Dunno. Ask him." Musa tapped on Timmy's shoulder. "What are you doing, Tim?" Timmy smiled. "An interface scan. I'm checking on Tecna's health. Its-" He was inturrupted by another loud beeping noise from the machine. "Hmm..." He checked over the gadget's screen. "Not good..."

"What do you mean by 'not good'?" Flora asked, concerned. "Is she going to be okay?" Timmy frowned, but nodded. "Yeah she'll be fine, she's just got a tempature. Actually I was kind of relieved that it wasn't worse. Oh, and she broke a few ribs but I'm sure she'll be alright with it."

"Just broke a few ribs, huh, Timmy?" Bloom said. "Yeah, that's really not affective." She completed with obvious sarcasm. Timmy managed a weak smile. "Well, unfortunatly she will have to wear a cast, but fortunatly she hasn't broken anything else."

He turned the flashlight towards the mouth of the cave with alertness. "What?" Musa asked. Timmy shushed her. "Do you hear that?" He asked. "Yeah..." Musa said and listened. "Its someone- or something- walking this way. Come on, let's bounce!" Timmy shook his head. "No, I'm to tired to carry Tecna anywhere else! We'll stay here and fight whatever this is that's coming to get us..."

Timmy readied his energy gun, pointing it towards the exit of the cave. "Watch where you aim that, Timmy!" Said "Prince Sky" (the real Brandon) from outside. "Guys! You're alright!" Timmy replied happily, lowering his weapon. "Hey. We're just wondering if you have enough room for us to stay?" 'Brandon' (the real Prince Sky) replied. "Sure. Come on in." Timmy said.

"Hey..." Stella said, running over to 'Prince Sky'. "I guess you managed to get into the dream too, huh?" Sky nodded. "Yup. We had to fight a few things too..." Riven stood from the mouth of the cave, his back pressed up against the wall, not interested. All he wanted was to get out of here.

Bloom approached 'Brandon' happily. "Hey, you!" She said. "Do you like our new home?" Brandon laughed. "Yeah, nice and cozy." He said sarcastically. Bloom giggled. "Well, judging by how long we've been here, I'd say its about three in the morning. That gives us four more hours..."

"Well, that's for you guys!" Timmy said worriedly. "Our lights-on hour is at six, not seven!" Bloom gasped. That meant that the boys would leave them early! Bloom sighed. "Well I guess when we wake up we're going to have to turn back our alarm clocks." Flora said, standing over Tecna. "She looks like she's going to get up."

Tecna groaned and came out of unconsciousness. Unluckily for her, her REAL self hadn't actually woken up yet, but at least her dream self did. "Timmy?" She said. "What's going on?" She tried to stand up but she found that impossible, she was sick and injured.

"Lay back down, Tecna." Flora replied, pushing her down, gently. "Tecna, you're still in the dream, remember?" Timmy replied. Tecna nodded. Suddenly there was a shout from near the cave entrance as Riven readied his beam sword. "Axetails at twelve o' clock!" He hissed.

Riven growled as the creatures came closer. He ducked just as one swung its tail towards him, the Riven collided with it, slashing with his purple sabre.

Meanwhile, Musa was struggling with a new breed of creature: The Tsnphoda. She blasted it with sound energy, but just as she thought it was defeated, it jumped back up, baring its teeth.

Flora caught one monster in a venus flyrap, but it ate the plant quickly and charged for Flora. Flora screamed and dropped to the ground, the motion too quick for her to evade. She waited to feel impact...

"Firewall!"

Tecna jumped in front of Flora, a green Firewall Shield on her arm. The creature rammed its horns into the sheild, knocking Tecna down, but saving Flora from impact. "Tecna!" Flora said, seeing her drop to the ground in pain. The creature reared and struck her, ripping her shimmering outfit slightly on her back.

Bloom and Flora both attacked with their energy at once, sending the creature slamming into the cave wall. Meanwhile, Musa was helping defend Brandon, who had been hit with an Axetail's weapon. "Hang on Brandon!" Musa said and created a discoball shield. "Funky forcefield!" She said, the spell to activate it.

Riven had finally slain a creature, with Prince Sky's help. "Only one more left!" He said, noticing how Musa was helping Brandon, and Bloom was assisting Timmy. "We've got it, guys!" Timmy said. "Go help Tecna! The injuries she sustained may be fatal!" Timmy grunted as his gun ran out of ammo. Everything was falling dowhill. Suddenly he gasped as he saw his arm start to disappear. "Sorry, girls... I think its time..." Timmy said and disappeared from the deminsion, followed by the rest of the boys. "Oh no!" Bloom cried. Now they were alone...

Bloom shuddered as the creature locked its eyes on her. Suddenly it leapt up without warning, clashing against Bloom with a heavy rumble. Flora reacted with Pteredactyl Vines, grabbing the creature and slinging it against the wall with a thud. Stella reacted with a heavy burst of light, blinding the monster, giving Musa enough time to hit it with a sonic blast. The creature gave its last wimper, then lie defeated. It was a difficult task without the boys to cover for them.

Everyone gathered around Tecna, half expecting her to die. "This isn't fair!" Stella grumbled. "Why are the witches always targeting us!" She was obviously very upset. "And all this fighting is tragety on my nails!" She twiddled her fingers so everyone could notice. "See? Broke two!" Musa groaned. "Come on, Stell, look at Tec, she's like, critical. In case you haven't noticed its much worse then YOU will ever be!" Flora sighed. "Please stop fighting. We have to make sure nothing else gets us."

Stella and Musa glared at eachother, then huffed. "Knock it off, you two!" Bloom said. "I'm sure we can find some way to live through this. If we can just-" She was cut off by her arms beginning to dematirealize. She smiled. "We're getting out of here." She, followed by Stella, then Flora, and Tecna, and last, Musa, were beginning to fade away...

BBBRRRIIINNNGGG!

The alarm continued to ring, and no one shut it off. "Tecna, can you-" Musa began, but Tecna, obviously couldn't reach that far. "I... I can't..." She said. Musa quickly jumped up and set it off.

BRRRRII-

"Finally!" She said. "Tec, are you alright?" She said, turning to her roommate worriedly. "No... go to class without me..." Musa shook her head. "You need a nurse!"  
"No, I'm fine. Timmy got all of the 'doctoring' under control- I just... don't feel well enough to go to class. Just tell the professors I'm sick today." Tecna rolled to her side, carefully, the conversation complete.

Musa sighed. "Alright." Slowly she walked out the door, taking one last look at Tecna. She wasn't going to sleep in her condition, which was the best thing she could do in that situation.

"Girls, we need to work together a way to stop the Terminal, survive the dreams-" Bloom began. "-AND get good grades." Flora added. "But we can't go anywhere without Tecna, so today we'll stay in school campus and find as much information we can about the Terminal." Bloom announced. "So lets all get ready. Musa, are you sure Tecna's alright?" Musa shook her head. "No, but Tecna insisted on staying so I just dropped the subject."

Bloom nodded. "Alright, let's go." She quickly left to her room with Flora and got ready. Stella and Musa did the same. "Now let's go swimming in documents on Terminals. I can't wait." Stella said with sarcasm and exited, with the others following quickly behind.

The four Winx Girls found themselves exploring the Library, mostly in the "T" section. "I think I found something." Musa said, pulling a tiny book off a shelf. The book only had a few written paragraphs. It hadn't been opened for a long time, since the library was huge and not many people would look for Terminal information.

"It says that not only is the Terminal an ancient artifact that was supposed to be hidden away, but its also a living organizm of a race called "Overloard". It says that Overloards are capable of strong power, but only one Overloard has the power to control everyone's dreams and twisting reality with his mind." Everyone gathered around Musa. "Does the book have a picture of an Overloard?" Asked Stella. "Yeah, right here." Musa said turning the page.

In the book was a rough sketch of an Overloard. It had a large, bulkey body, tentecles, and four eyes on its spiney head. Large spikes rolled down its crest and its tail was like a whip with sharp objects encrested in the end. "I'd hate to come across one of THOSE..." Bloom commented. "But we are- and we have to..."

The girls took one more look at it before shoving the book away. "Just looking at that gave me the creeps!" Stella said, shivering. "Lets keep looking. That book didn't have enough information. Look for books on Overloards."

After searching the "O" section, Flora uncovered a reletavely small book. "Overloards, right here!" She said. She opened it, and immediatly found another terrifying picture of an Overloard, except this one was in more detail. Flora grimaced and covered the picture with her hand, reading the text. "Overloards aren't easy to destroy," she said, "Few people have killed one and lived to tell the tale. They say when the Overloard dies, it releases a poisonous fume that kills one when it breathes. Otherwise the Overloard terminates either by strangling or... Posion..." Flora hated reading this out loud, about how the Overloard could destroy someone. "It doesn't really talk about how to kill an Overloard..."

After searching a bit more, the bell rang for their classes. Reluctantly the girls left the library, many questions left unanswered. After the classes, the girls retreated to their dorm.

"Tecna?" Stella said, checking up on her, followed by the rest of the girls. Everyone gasped, Tecna was lying motionless on the floor. "Oh no, you don't think the Terminal got her, do you?" Flora said. "No, she's awake." Musa said, walking over to her. "Tecna, are you alright?" Tecna shook her head. Together, Bloom and Musa lifted up the fairy and laid her on her bed. "How'd you get down there anyway?" Stella asked. "Long story..." Tecna said weakly. "Let's just say the spell didn't work."

"That doesn't explain much." Bloom said. "Come on, we need answers." Tecna groaned. "Okay so I was tired of sitting here in pain, so I tried my best to get to the kitchen, take some medication and use a spell to help ease the pain, but... let's just say none of it worked... go on, girls, I'm fine. I was just too weak to cast the spell correctly and I just couldn't keep the medicine down..." Tecna rolled over. "Nevermind. Just go."

"What's your problem?" Musa said under her breath. "Why don't you put yourself to use and look on your digital search thingy for more information on Overloards?" Tecna's eyes widened in fear. "Did you say... Overloard?" She said. "No... it isn't possible..." The girls watched with fear. "What?" Flora asked. "If the Terminal is actually an Overloard, then we're in serious trouble..." Tecna replied. "How do you know about OVERLOARDS!" Stella said, losing her patients. "Listen. My father was one who killed an Overloard... he was the last to tell what happened." Tecna said. "I never told you this because it wasn't important... until now. Dad was... disabled... after he fought this madness..." Flora gasped. "You poor thing!"

Tecna sighed. "I was just a young fairy at that time, I didn't really know what was going on... But the Overloards- we can't kill one by ourselves. We need more... but... I know more about them..." Tecna gritted her teeth. "I don't have enough energy to tell you now..."

The four other girls paused. Whatever Tecna had to say, it wasn't good. Whatever was going to happen to them next was all in a matter of time, and fate.

The Overloard was watching.


	2. Clash in the Nightmare

"Do you think we should ask Miss Faragonda about this?" Flora asked. "Yeah, we better do that." Musa said. "Who knows, she might know more about the Overloard then Tecna does." Bloom nodded. "Yeah, let's go... wait..." She paused, her eyes widened and she gritted her teeth. "Bloom, what's wrong?" Stella asked. "I... I don't know, I hear this voice... in my head..."

Musa raised an eyebrow. "Its that Daphne diva, right?" Bloom shook her head. "No, its a male's voice... or a thing's voice..." Tecna frowned from in her bed. "The Overloard..." She whispered to herself. "Bloom! Its the Overloard!" She called painfully. "Don't listen to him, he's trying to change your mind about Faragonda!"

Bloom shuddred. "But, Tecna... what if he's right? I mean, Faragonda might get mad or something and-" "-Bloom! Don't listen to him! Agh!" Tecna was too weak to be talking to Bloom like that, and through all the stress she managed to injure her back. "Just go, Bloom." She said. "Go to Faragonda."

Bloom paused. "I... okay..." Everyone smiled and left the room, with Bloom bringing up the rear. She couldn't believe that the Overloard could find her, and now he was holding her back...

Back from her Destiny...

Stella tapped lightly on Faragonda's office door. "Come in." The headmistress said. "We need to talk to you, Miss Faragonda. Its important." Flora said quietly. By now the Overloard was tugging feircely in Bloom's mind. She didn't want to tell Miss Faragonda about the Terminal.

"Listen, we're being targeted by a Terminal." Musa said. "Its an Overloard." Miss Faragonda's eyes widened. "No... it can't be possible!" Faragonda said. "Overloards are a dying race... someone couldn't possibly have revived Rarion..." Faragonda faced the girls. "You alone can't defeat him... Rarion is too powerful..."

"So you're saying that this Terminal, which is an Overloard, his name is Rarion?" Stella asked. "Come on we have to go! Sorry Miss Faragonda!" Bloom suddenly said. "No, Bloom, you know what Tecna said!" Stella growled, grabbing Bloom's arm.

Faragonda continued. "Rarion lives in the tombs of Shadowfist Ravine. Only the bravest go there- if you're being targeted by him in your dreams, you must be extra careful." Flora nodded. "All of us are, even some of the Specialists at Red Fountain."

"In that case, we'll have to send many Red Fountain boys to help. I can't risk losing you girls... and boys. Leave the office, please. I must consult the Elders..." The four girls nodded and quickly left. Bloom felt horrible- as if she had told ten thousand lies, as if she had murdered, as if she had stolen. She felt lower then dirt. The Overloard was still convincing her to not go. And if she didnt, that would easily lead to the death of her friends.

One of her friends was already dangerously close to death...

Quickly the girls entered the dorm and looked at the clock. "Class with Palladium is about to start." Flora said. "We better hurry up and get ready." Suddenly someone screamed from Tecna's room. Everyone quickly rushed inside, alarmed. Musa was standing over Tecna, her eyes wide with terror, and she was pointing. "She's dead! She's dead!" Musa repeated, her heart beating fast.

Flora's teeth chattered with fear as a shudder trickled down her spine. "Are you sure?" She asked. Tecna had all the traits of death- pale skin, and unmoving. She wasn't breathing either. "Maybe the Terminal killed her!" Stella said fearfully. "But it couldn't have. Overloards are nocturnal. They only strike at night." Bloom suddenly said. Everyone now turned to her. "How did you know that?" Asked Flora. "No time to worry about that now! She's not dead yet!" Stella exlaimed, hope returning to her.

"She's got a pulse. Quick, get a nurse! We'll have to ask what happened to her later!" Musa said, her hand over Tecna's chest. "Don't forget to ask Bloom how in the Realms she knew more about Overloards then we did!" Flora pointed out. "Come on, let's get the nurse, quick! Stella can stay behind and keep an eye on Tecna."

The bell rang for the next class, but the girls weren't going to be there. Quickly they retrieved the nurse. Hopefully they could save Tecna before she would truly die.

Quickly, the girls returned, a nurse running along their side. Not only was there a nurse, but there was a doctor as well. Quickly they gathered around the fallen fairy, checking to see what was wrong. "Quick, I need a painless spell. We need to preform operation A-C." The doctor said calmly as the nurse casted a spell. "Don't worry, girls, your friend will be fine, but I'm glad you got us in time. We'll have to cut into her injury and get to her the medication. This happens commonly in Binary Galaxy people, so we know how to handle it. You get on to class and we'll handle this."

Musa huffed. She didn't want to go to class with her best friend in her condition. But she didn't want to see any bleeding open wounds either, so she and the others sadly left to their classess.

Images of the Overloard flooded Bloom's mind as she walked down the hall. "Fear me... do not come... fear will consume your friends... and it will all be your fault..." His gurgly voice filled her mind. "Their death will be on your shoulders..." Bloom saw Flora in her visions, halfway disembodied and lying at the Overloard's heavy feet. She saw Stella slammed and stuck to the wall. She saw a piece of Musa's shirt in one of the Overloard's teeth- and she saw Tecna wrapped in one of his tentecles- strangled. "This will happen if you come... so do not dare..." The voice faded, and Bloom was pale and clammy. If she went, the overloard would terminate all of her friends and let her excape- and the deaths will be on her shoulders.

The rest of the afternoon went this way. The Overloard continued to pester Bloom in her mind, showing her all the posibilities of how he could destroy her friends. The more Bloom saw, the more she did not want to destroy the Overloard. But if you think about it, either way the Overloard would have his way- to have all of her friends defeated. If Bloom did try to stop him, he would kill her friends. But if she didn't, he would kill them in their dreams.

But that was just what she thought.

The Overloard was truly afraid of her, and he tried with every possible way he could to change her mind. Bloom found it impossible to pay attention in class, all she could think about was what the Overloard would do.

Finally the day drifted on, and all the girls were able to retreat to their dorm. "I can't belive I got a D in that class!" Stella complained. "I thought I studied yesteday, but I guess the Terminal problems are holding me back. Man, we HAVE to get rid of it!" Bloom paused. No, they shouldn't. They'd get hurt. Flora noticed the way Bloom was acting. "What's wrong, honey?"

"Nothing." Bloom replied. "Let's just check on Tecna"  
Musa quickly went to Tecna's side of the room to see what was up. She seemed fine, and was awake, to her relief. "Hey! You're alive!" Musa said suddenly, then blushed. "What do you mean? Was I dead?" Tecna asked worriedly. "Yeah, you were, sorta." Musa replied. "But I guess the doctor saved you, that's awesome."

Tecna blushed. Had she really caused so much trouble on her friends? Then she saw Bloom, who was obviously troubled by the Overloard. "Don't listen to him, Bloom! Don't do it. Whatever he's telling you is a lie. Trust me." Tecna told her.

Bloom shook her head. "No, Tecna. I belive him."

-  
Everyone faced Bloom, worried. "What do you mean, you belive him? Did you not HEAR Tecna!" Stella said. Bloom nodded. "I heard her. But I don't believe her. The Overloard's right- we can't fight him! None of us can."

Tecna groaned. Was Bloom too late to turn back? Would Bloom end up like her father? Her father didn't trust himself with the Overloard until the last oppurtunity possible- and most of his friends died because he didn't fight the Overloard in time. If they went without Bloom, they could be in the same position as Tecna's father- or worse.

"Bloom! My father made the same mistake you're making now! He almost DIED because of it! Don't let that happen to you! Trust me!" Tecna pleaded, feeling as useless as she was the past few days. She had enough strength to stand on her feet, so she quickly scrambled out of bed and faced Bloom square in the eyes. Maybe if Bloom saw how serious she was she would understand just how decieving the Overloard was.

Bloom paused, staring into Tecna's bright green eyes and finally, she said, "Alright. I understand." In her mind, she hear the Overloard squeal, his plan fading.

The Overloard had to get rid of Tecna some way, somehow. If Tecna knew the answers to all of his lies, she could pull Bloom out of wanting to let the Overloard handle her friends without her. If he could get his hands on Tecna's neck- if he could kill her, then Bloom would be all his to torment.  
Tonight would be his moment to strike.

Tonight, in just two hours.

TO BE CONTINUED  
((And just in case you're wondering, it IS spelled "Overloard" and not "Overlord". I wanted to make the spelling different because there is this video game with an "Overlord" in it. I just thought that was a cool name and switched up the spelling ))

I've decided to add more...

Meanwhile, Icy, Darcy, and Stormy stood in the Overloard's rancid cave, standing in front of the beast. "Well? What's the information? Speak up before I turn you into a kitten!" The Overloard grumbled in reply, then said, "The red-haired one was decieved until the logical one kept her from my challenges..." He said in his gurgly voice, looking at Icy, Darcy, and Stormy with his many eyes. "I will try to destroy her tonight so I may do as you command. For restoring me you have your wish... For I know of whom my new target is. Her father killed me..."

Icy smiled. "Good. If you don't devour her, I'd like her wings as a trophy. They are an interesting peice..." The Overloard nodded. "You will have your wish..." Icy then laughed and snapped her fingers for Darcy. "On it." Replied the Darkness witch and they teleported back to Cloud Tower. They'll visit the Overloard tomorrow morning for their prize...

"We're here." Flora said, finding herself in a familiar place. One by one, she saw her friends take on materialization (sp) around her. "Now let's find the boys." Stella said, quickly turning her ring into a Scepter. "I agree, let's go." Musa said, pointing to the hill.

Bloom found it hard to follow, but with Tecna's support she was able to come along with the girls. They were so occupied in finding the Red Fountain boys that they didn't notice a creature watching them from above.

"His wish is my command." The creature said to himself, his eyes glowing faintly. He was a Werewolven, similar to a Werewolf, but more cunning and agile. His eyes were locked on a particular vibrant-haired girl...

"You're mine, fairy of the Techno Dust!"

Stella slammed her Scepter into the ground with a satisfied huff. "Well, I guess all we have to do now is-" She was inturuppted by a scream for help over a nearby rocky hill. "Uh-oh!" Flora said. "Let's go see who needs help!" Musa, Flora, and Tecna nodded, ready for action. Bloom just paused, but finnaly agreed. Quickly, the group went into Winx and flew as fast as they could to reach the hilltop.

All but Tecna.

From her drained energy, she couldn't keep up with them, and she found herself falling from being airborne and resting upon the ground. "I'll catch up." She said, gathering her energy.

The wrong move.

"I've got you now..." The Werewolven said to himself as he crept up behind her. With a swift move, he grabbed her from behind and threw his paw over her mouth so she couldn't call for help, and he took her quickly into the shadows. Tecna struggled in vain to dispatch herself from his grasp, but she was hopeless. The Werewolven now grabbed her neck, then punched her so hard that he knocked out one of her teeth, tearing at the gums that surrounded it. The tooth skittered across the rocky ground. She moaned in pain but couldn't scream any louder, he was choking her. Sickening amounts of blood rolled down her chin, and the Werewolven smiled, licking his teeth. He liked the taste and looks of blood. With his paw, he wiped off her chin, then licked his furry hand clean. "Now then..." He said, facing her square in the eyes, "I'll take your wings." Tecna struggled as he put his free paw on her right wing, tugging painfully at it. She thought she could feel a segment of it begin to tear away from her Winx outfit...

Tecna shut her eyes as she felt even more of her wing begin to tear away from herself. Through all the horrible pain, she thought of Timmy. Now she would never marry him. The world spun as she gave up on all traces of hope, letting her life excape.  
"RRRROOOAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!" The sound shook the very floor, rumbling through the mountains and canyons. The Werewolven stopped, dropping Tecna heavily on the ground, fear in his bright yellow eyes. The roar repeated, except closer, and over the top of a mountain jumped none other then a...

...Dragon.

The Dragon beared his teeth and watched the Werewolven. The Wolven squealed with fright and tried to get away, but the dragon pounced upon it and ate it whole. Tecna, after gathering her breath, watched with horror. The dragon eyed her narrowly, then flew away, uninterested. To Tecna, it was a mirical.

By now her mouth was filled with the sickening salty taste of blood that had poured out of the hole where her tooth was. She spit out the remains and located the tooth. Perhaps when they got out of this nightmare she could get it replaced. "How embarrasing..." She said to herself, the 'S' sounding more like a whistle.

"Tecna!" The Winx girls and Prince Sky ran down the hill towards her. "Are you alright?" Flora asked, worried. "I'm fine..." She said, swallowing a bit more blood. "Just lost a tooth..." Prince Sky grimaced. "Come on, you look a bit more hurt then that, can you at least agree that you're injured? Look at me, I can feel a lot of pain right now. Tell us what happened!" Tecna sighed. "Okay... here it goes... When I fell behind, I was suddenly attacked by this werewolf thing. He almost killed me and took my wings..." She winced in pain as she was reminded of her wing. It felt slightly askew and hurt terribly. "Turn around." Bloom said and examined her wing. "Wow, I'm glad he didn't take it off! That's going to take a while to heal." She exclaimed, noticing that the green, glowing wing was horribly off where it should be. "Anyway, he managed to punch one of my teeth out. I would've been dead if it wasn't for the dragon." Sky smiled. "The dragon! What color was it?" Tecna shrugged. "I think it was green but it was hard to see with the Werewolf choking me like he was."

"That's my dragon!" Sky said and laughed. "I knew that would work! Last night Timmy launched a program to bring the dragon into his owners' dreams. Since our dreams are real, I think my dragon got in." Tecna smiled. "That's a great plan..."

She looked over on the horizon as Timmy and Riven came shouting. "We found you!" Riven said. "Do you know how long we were out here?" He slowed down to catch his breath as Timmy ran strait over to Tecna. "You're hurt!" He said worriedly. "What happened?" His girlfriend sighed and told him the story again. "Well you better get some rest and recover. In the meantime we have to look for-" Timmy began, but was cut off by a sudden shout from Bloom. "BRANDON!" She cried. "He's in danger!"

How do you know that, Bloom?" Stella asked. "I just... I just know, let's go." Musa held up her hand. "Wait a minute, Bloom. First you knew that the Overloard is nocturnal, and NOW you know that Brandon is in danger. What is going on?"

Bloom sighed. "Look, I don't know how I know this. But I do, and I don't really know how." Tecna stood up. "I know." She said. "Bloom is the keeper of the Dragonfire. She, when the Overloard looked into her mind, took some of the memory and information from the Overloard as well. So now, since the Overloard had gotten into her brain, she can get into his." Bloom nodded. "Yeah, I agree with Tecna. I think that's the problem."

"Problem?" Flora asked. "Do you know what this means, Bloom? It means you can get into the Overloard's mind and see just what he's planning!" Bloom smiled, then said, "I'll figure that out later. Now we have to save Brandon"

The five fairys and three specialists had to make their way over a ravine. Musa picked Riven and then carried him, flying across first. "Dude, you're HEAVY!" She said and caught her breath when she made it to the other side. Stella winked to Sky and lifted him up next, flying him across. Flora lifted up Tecna and carried her, because she didn't have enough energy to fly, and she couldn't anyway with her injured glider/wing. Bloom took Timmy. Luckily, it all went well and the girls were able to fly everyone across. "Man, that ravine is deep!" Commented Flora, leaning over the edge. It seemed to go on forever- she couldn't see the bottom.

"I'm glad no one dropped anyone." Riven said. "I didn't trust anyone but Musa on that one." He blushed, had he said too much? Luckily for him, no one took notice- their attention was fixed on a nearby cave. "Brandon is in there." Bloom said with determination.

"NO!" The Overloard squealed from in his caverns. Tecna got away? How dare she! The Overloard shivered with anger. Now what would he say to the witches? He had to find out another way to destroy her before the Witches would check on him for her wings in the morning.

With his third eye, he checked on the location of the travelers. "Blood ravine..." He moaned to himself. "Maybe I can knock that annoing fairy down there"

"There's a huge clot of rocks over here! How are we going to break in?" Sky asked, looking at the cave entrance, which was covered over in rocks and boulders. "Here!" Timmy said. "Stand back, everybody!" He took his Bee-kicker blaster out of his hostler and pulled the trigger.

The stinger bullets slammed into the boulders, instantly knocking them in. "Good work, Timmy." Sky said and gave the geek a thumbs-up. ((Lol, geek, just had to say that.))

The group entered the cave and immediatly noticed a huge creature chewing on something. Bloom's heart fell as she imagined the worst. With all her might, she blasted the creature with the Dragonfire...

It moaned and stepped backwards, revealing not Brandon's corpse, but a mere animal. Brandon was stuck to the wall in a sticky substance, obviously next on the menu. Bloom screamed and flew over to him- he was unconscios but not dead. Bloom quickly removed him from the wall and lowered him gently to the ground while everyone else was locked in combat.

The creature roared with anger, locking his eyes on Flora. She gasped as he charged at her, slamming her with his horns! Tecna gasped and saw the impact knock her friend out of the cave and over the ravine- Flora was knocked cold and couldn't fly back up!

With single-minded determination, Tecna jumped down the ravine after her, eyes closed. She couldn't see what waited below anyway. "Please work... please work..." She told herself over and over, hoping her wings would allow her to fly...

Slam! A rock scraped up against her spine, tearing the flesh... SMACK! Another rock rammed up against her arm. Luckily for Flora, she hadn't hit anything yet...

Tecna held her breath and closed her eyes as she tried to fall faster then Flora. Quickly, when she leveled up to her, she grabbed Flora and tried to fly, but it was useless. Wind rushed past as she dare not look down. She knew she would die even if she saw what lie ahead, but she held Flora above herself so maybe she could save her...

The Overloard smiled as he watched. 


	3. Struggle

((Sorry for the wait.))

SPLASH!

Cold water rushed over Tecna and Flora. The impact immediatly knocked Tecna out, but her life was saved from the river below. The Overloared roared in anger. None of his scouts ever found what the ravine held below the darkness, unluckily for him, it was water.

Flora quickly realised where she was as she opened her eyes, and found out that she was sitting on top of Tecna, drowning her. "Oh my goodness!" Flora cried and swam off of her. The current was picking up, and rapids were up ahead. Flora grabbed Tecna and tried her best to swim to the edge of the canyon, a waterfall waiting at the edge.

Flora wasn't able to fight the current! Sharp rocks scraped up against her as she tried to get away, the rapids pulling her downwards and off the waterfall!

She screamed as she plummeted downwards towards a collection of sharp rocks that would grind her to bits...

SWOOSH!

She gasped as she hit something relitavely soft instead of rocks. She and Tecna were caught by none other then Prince Sky's dragon. She clutched its scales and held onto Tecna's arm, getting her situated. The dragon carried them over the top of the ravine. Everyone stood, waiting for them. "We saw you both fall off, but the creatures kept us from rescuing you!" Stella said sadly. "I'm sorry guys!"

Prince sky nodded. "At least my dragon saved them! What happened, Flora?" Flora watched Timmy take Tecna from the dragon before she told Sky about what happened. "Well, that monster slammed me over the edge, and I don't really know what happened... but when I came out of unconsciousness, I found Tecna under me, as if she saved me from impact or something... Poor thing must've not been able to fly out!"

"She's not breathing!" Timmy said, moving her hair aside. He quivered with anxious energy as he stood over her. He knew what to do but was afraid to do it- mouth-to-mouth CPR. He had a crush on her, but he didn't really know if she did to him.

"Go on, Timmy." Brandon said with a slight smile. "You can do it." Timmy took a deep breath and performed the act. Tecna coughed and choked and turned over, immediatly waking up. "Timmy?" She said weakly, then laughed and blushed. He helped her to her feet, his teeth chattering, and a weak smile forming on his lips. Bloom just couldn't help to giggle.

At least they were all reunited.

For the moment.  
Tecna woke up, finally, and found herself safe in her room. She sat up and turned on the light, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out her tooth and groaned. Maybe she could get another one. Musa yawned. "Well, THAT was interesting..." She said and faced Tecna with a broad smile. "Timmy kissed you!" She laughed. "That was funny!"

Tecna blushed. "Yeah... pretty funny." She began to head out the door. "Oh, Tec, where are you going?" Musa said and laughed again. "You're still in your pajamas!" Tecna shrugged. "I really have to see the nurse about this... I'm tired of my "S"es sounding like whistles... Check this out.  
Sally sold seashells by the seashore." Musa giggled. "Yeah, you better get another tooth before everyone starts laughing their heads off!"

Tecna nodded and left to find the nurse.

Meanwhile, the Winx Girls all attended their classess. It was 10:00. "Where's Tecna?" Stella asked. "She's getting a tooth replacement, you should've heard her!" Musa said. "It was hilarious!"

Bloom rolled her eyes. She couldn't help but to dread the time the Overloard would strike again. Though it was morning, if someone fell asleep in class he might be able to get them, though he usually strikes at night after 12.

"I tried, Your Highness, but I could not." The Overloard told Icy. "Well? I'll give you one more chance to bring me those wings. And if you don't... well, I'll think of something." Icy replied. The Overloard nodded his bulky head. "It shall be done"  
It was noon and the four Winx girls were sitting around the table. They had hidden all of their scratches from their classmates so they wouldn't gasp or point at them and ask, "How'd that happen?" Bloom had suggested that they'd feel like a fool if they told them that they were hurt in their dreams.

Suddenly Tecna walked blindly into the dining hall and sat quietly next to Stella at the edje of the table. "Hey, Tec!" Stella said, greeting her loudly. "So did you get a new tooth?" Tecna nodded.

"Well, lemme see!"

Tecna was reluctant, but finally showed Stella and the other Winx girls her new tooth. "Well, I don't see anything different. I'd say they did a good job... What's wrong, Tecna?" Flora said. "I just... don't want this to happen again... I just feel as if the Overloard is targeting me specifically..."

Bloom paused. "He IS, Tecna..." She said. "I got into his mind again last night... He said something about getting your wings to Icy." Tecna's eyes widened with terror. "Do you know why?" She asked. "Yes...He says you know too much about him and his secrets, he's afraid you'll keep me from falling into his hands..."

Tecna's lip quivered, and a single tear dropped from her eye. "She's crying!" Musa said, with a slight smile. "I've never seen THAT before!" Flora quickly ran over to Tecna and hugged her. "Its okay, Tecna, we'll keep you safe." She told her reassuringly.

Bloom, after finishing lunch, walked down the hall blindly. Maybe she could figure more out about the Overloard and what he may be planning. "Rarion..." Bloom whispered under her breath. "Show me the path..." She paused. The Overloard wasn't really in any realms. The Overloard was actually LIVING in the dream! That meant that they would only be able to take on the Overloard with the boys and themselves- and hopefully Sky's dragon.  
It was finally night again, and the Winx Club was reunited in the dorm.

"Guys! Guess what I figured out! Rarion, the Overloard, actually lives in the dream!" Musa gasped. "Uh-oh! That could only mean one thing..." Bloom nodded. "We can only take it on with ourselves, the Boys, and the dragon!"

Tecna looked at the ground. "This is awful... I... I wish I never came to Alfea... I wish the Witches didn't even exist! And now they're targeting ME!" Flora frowned and patted her back. "Its okay, Tecna, as long as you have us nothing can happen. You're going into the dream again with us- and we're going to defeat the Overloard."

Tecna smiled slightly. She was always optimistic- lovable Flora. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Flora." Tecna replied. "Okay, enough with the calming words passing around, let's hurry up and try and figure out a way to kill the Overloard! The boys are probably already there." Stella announced and hurried off to her room.

Tecna had no idea that this very night would be the most terrifying and injury-serving yet. 


	4. The End?

The group took on materialization. They were pulled into the dream once again- one by one. "Okay, what's the first thing we need to do?" Musa asked Bloom. "Find the boys, then we'll try and find out where the Overloard is."

"All right, let's go" Stella said, turning her ring into a scepter and making a little more light. "All right, Flora and Musa, you guys have to guard Tecna- make sure nothing happens to her, okay?" Tecna blushed as her two friends closed in around her, gathering their Winx and getting their outfits. "Are we ready?" Flora asked. Bloom nodded. "Let's go, keep an eye out for everything."

They were very awareful, but not enough. A shadow moved in the darkness.

The group had walked at least a mile until they had finally found Prince Sky rummaging around next to a clifftop. "Sky! Yoo-hoo?" Stella called, waving her hands. "Stella! Girls!" Sky called and climbed back down the cliff. "Riven's on the other side, looking for you all, but we can find him later. Right now I'm mainly worried about the others- Brandon and Timmy, that is."

"I think we should get Riven first, safety in numbers, you know?" Sky nodded. "Yeah, I guess that's the best choice of action. Let's go. He should be across the ridge, but if he's being lazy then he'd be at the beginning." Everyone agreed that Riven would most defiantly be in the beginning of the ridge.

As the group walked across the surrounding cliffs, they managed to locate Riven down the corridor. "What do you think you're doing?" Musa demanded, tapping her heel impatiently. "I got tired," Riven said with a frown. "Still looking around for your boyfriend, that nerd Timmy?" Riven said rudely, facing Tecna.

Tecna gave him an offended huff and winced. "He is NOT a nerd!" Riven laughed. "Yeah, sure. And Bloom still likes that goody-goody, Brandon!" Bloom gasped. "What is your problem, Riven?"

"Yo, guys, no time to chit-chat, we've got some people to find!" Announced Prince Sky, irritated. Everyone got settled down and prepared themselves for a long and tireful walk with Riven.

Luckily for the group, they managed to track down Timmy and Brandon to a nearby cave. The cave was very small and had an odd-shaped wall, but it was very tightly packed in, about five yards in diameter, just room enough for the whole group to pile in and get comfortable. The cave hadn't been occupied before, until they found the two boys hiding out in it. "Hey guys!" Bloom said, running inside. "We were looking for you!" Timmy nodded. "Great! Thank you, but we don't really have enough time to have a nice introduction." He twiddled with his glasses. "Sorry, but Brandon and I have made a few discoveries while you all were out. Brandon and I figured out that not only is every dream becoming harder and harder to overcome, but the Overloard, Rarion, is also making the dreams more and more unstable."

"What do you mean?" Flora asked, worried. "What I mean is that the Overloard is trying his hardest to put more and more creatures into our nightmares- the danger level is off the charts. And I also found out that the Terminal is in fact targeting Tecna specifically..." Timmy replied, looking over at his girlfriend worriedly. "Anyway, I guess you already knew that he's after Tecna- but I must say, you're really lucky not to have any contact with something so far, so I'm wondering if they're regrouping their forces and planning a strike on our position."

Brandon nodded, then added, "and I've discovered something else. The Terminal is in the dreams, and we can't really attack him with more members from Red Fountain or Alfea because of the activation- the only way to activate the Overloard is by telling him who and where to strike. And since we don't know where he is, Timmy and I began to do a few quick researches on how far we explored as a group, and how much region is unexplored"  
((Here comes the infamous Tecna angst.))

Some of the others found it hard to follow what Brandon and Timmy were saying, but they were paying so much attention to the speech that Flora and Musa forgot their duties to stay more protective to Tecna. From out of the shadows lurked a hungry looking creature into the cave. He edged up to Tecna, without drawing her attention.

Pink haired girl... check. He thought to himself as he prepared to grab her. With a swift motion, he swept her up and before she could attack, or scream for help, before anyone could attack, he had thrown her into the nearby wall. "NO!" Stella yelled as she was the first one to catch and react to what had just happened. The poor digital fairy collided with the wall, and the rocks and boulders that had made up the illusion of a wall piled in over her- she was either buried alive or dead under the massive weight.

Kill the target... check.

Of course, by now, most of the group was attacking the creature with rage. Timmy had somehow grabbed the sword out of Brandon's hand and tackled the creature and cut it furiously, rage burning in his eyes under his glasses. "Timmy, what are you doing! He's gone mad!" Riven cried.

Soon, the creature was dead at their feet. "Exellent work, Tim!" Musa said, smiling for a brief second, then she immediatly ran over to the rocks with Timmy, followed by everyone else. "Quick! Get these rocks off of her!" Sky yelled. "Oh no... she couldn't possibly live through this..." Bloom said, tears filling her eyes. "Now... now what? Because she's dead are we all going to die?"

Timmy didn't want to think that she was dead. He felt that somehow, someway, Tecna was alive.

Soon, the group had managed to remove every one of the rocks off of Tecna, with Timmy running over to her side. "No..." He said to himself as he took out his heath-seeking device and pressed a few buttons on it. After checking the screen of the invention, immediatly, he began crying, and soon everyone, even Riven, were actually crying over the fallen fairy. "Now what? Are we going to bury her here or how are we going to take her back to Alfea for a proper funeral?" Riven said, who was the only one who had the courage to do so.

"Guys..." Timmy said, wiping away his tears. "...she's alive..." He wasn't crying for a loss- they were tears of joy. "No way, really!" Stella said, brightening up. "How in the realms did she live through that?" Timmy shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe she was able to cast a protection spell or something that saved her from dying... but she's broken quite a few bones in that incident. My health-seeker device here tells me that she's broken approximatly seven different major bones, probably a few fingers too, but the important thing is that she's alive..." Everyone was sighing with relief. "Riven, I gave you that medical kit, do you have it?" Brandon said, turning to Riven. Riven nodded. "Luckily, I remembered to keep up with it." He said and handed the kit over to Brandon.

"I've taken a few health classess. Lets see if I can wrap her injuries. Timmy, what all has she broken?" Timmy looked at his device again and frowned. "Three ribs, left knee, left arm, right shoulder, spinal cord, and right leg." Musa gave a pained inhale. "Whoo, that's gotta hurt." She said with intended enthusiasm, trying to cheer up the company.

As Brandon applied the medical bandages, the others waited pateintly, checking out the cave that the creature must have not intended to open. "The boulders were blocking the interance to this tunnel... and boy, does it stink!" Stella said. "I'm begining to wonder if Rarion lives somewhere in there..." Prince Sky perked up. "Wait a minute! If the Overloard lives down there then I think we should relocate camp- you know, to a safer spot." Flora nodded and said, "I agree wtih Stella and Sky, he probably does live down there."

Brandon nodded. "I agree. But how are we going to carry Tecna without hurting her even further?" He said, staring helplessly at her. "We have to transport her some way, we can't stay like, right next to Rarion's lair." Musa said. Quickly, Timmy, Riven, and Brandon lifted Tecna gently off the ground, trying their best not to put too much pressure on her casts. "Where to, Bloom?" Brandon asked. Bloom looked around, then pointed towards the horizon. "We still need to find Sky's Dragon, so lets hurry up and get somewhere away from that creepy tunnel."

The group made their way where Bloom had pointed them in the direction of. They had to climb over many rocks, making it most difficult on Brandon, Timmy, and Riven, who were cooperating on carrying the unconscious Tecna. They still hadn't found Sky's Dragon, but they found a nice spot to take cover from any other creature that may be looking for them.

Brandon, Riven, and Timmy causiously laid Tecna down on the floor of the ground, in the softest place they could find. Timmy brushed a few rocks away before they laid her down, making sure she'd be confortable. "Tecna, can you hear me?" Timmy asked, sitting next to her, hoping that maybe she would be able to awaken in the nightmare. He feared if she ws fainted in the nightmare, she would be fainted in the real world as well, and if they left the dream before she awoke, then she would be taken and killed.

"Tecna, please wake up." Timmy said, glancing up at the moon, then froze. "Umm... Flora?" He said, turning to the nearest member. "What? Is something wrong, sweetie?" Flora asked, turning to him. "The moon... its still high..." Timmy replied, not turning his attention from the moon. He shuddered. The moon was in the exact same spot at least two hours ago.

"Oh no... you don't think the Overloard is stopping time, do you?" Flora said, disturbed. "It would appear so... he knows Tecna's still alive and I think he's trying to stop time so we don't wake up!" Timmy replied and frowned. "I wish that the Overloard would just... just die already!" Flora faced him, shocked. She had never heard Timmy wish bad doings onto another person, but this was the Overloard they were talking about! It was obvious he wanted the Overloard to die. Everyone did.

She yawned. Not only was she asleep in the real world, but in the dream, she was also feeling tired. "I think we better get some rest. I hear time-stopping can take a lot of energy off someone. If we just hold to each other, I'm sure the Overloard will have to stop holding time to get his energy back."

Timmy nodded and yawned also. He took off his glasses. "Someone needs to take watch while the more tired ones get some rest," he said. "I'm on it. I don't need sleep." Riven insisted. "I think I'll stay up too just in case he falls asleep on the job." Prince Sky said, knowing Riven better.

Timmy laid down next to Tecna, putting his glasses safely over on a sturdy rock. Hopefully when the Overloard stopped holding time, Tecna would be awake and out of the nightmare.

Timmy was awoken by a soft voice from next to him. Quickly he put on his glasses and faced Tecna. The moon was still high, but not as high as it was from when he last fell asleep- the Overloard was losing control of time.

"Timmy...?" Tecna said painfully. "What is it?" He asked her worriedly, hoping she was alright. "I feel horrible... what happened?" Tecna replied. "You were almost dead, Tecna, buried under boulders. I guess you must be hurting really bad?"

Tecna nodded and winced with pain. "Timmy... I... I feel weak..." She said, looking up at him with pale grey eyes. All the color seemed drained from her skin and eyes, as if she was more then just injured. "What's wrong, Tecna?" Timmy asked, even more worried. "Please don't die, Tecna! Please don't die..."

Prince Sky walked over to them. "What's going on?" He asked. "Its Tecna," Timmy replied. Tecna was watching the two, not paying much attention. She didn't know what was wrong wtih her either- sure, her bones were broken but she felt something else- something inside her- either it was sickness, doubt, or just the insane thought of them not living through the night.

"Timmy... why isn't the moon going anywhere? The overloard must be holding time, right?" She said. Timmy nodded. "You're going to be alright, Tecna. Just hang in there, and when we get out of here, the other girls will find you a cure to whatever's wrong."

"They're all alive, right? Is everyone okay?"

"Everyone but you."

"Timmy... I'm..."

"You're what?"

"I'm so sorry..."

Timmy paused. "What are you sorry about?" He asked her, shocked. "I'm sorry I pulled you all into this mess..." She replied. "You didn't do it, Icy and her gang did." Timmy replied. "Not just them, Timmy. You know my father, I'm sure you know his tale of the Terminals. Well... its my fault all this has happened..."

Timmy hesitated, then said slowly, "What are you saying?" Tecna groaned. "I'm saying that the Overloard is after me because of my father and because of my knowledge. He's actually wanted to kill me for years- even before I came to Alfea- but you see, the Overloard was dead. Now that he's back he... he wants revenge. If I wasn't involved with you or the group, you wouldn't be here right now."

Timmy sighed. "Tecna, I'd do anything just to be with you. This has been pretty interesting, actually, this adventure wtih the Overloard has brought us closer together. I'd never leave you, even if the whole universe of evil creatures were after you."

Tecna smiled, she knew Timmy would say this, but she didn't believe him completely. But suddenly she felt calm and secure- now she felt as if she and the others could kill the Overloard with no troulbe at all.

TO BE CONTINUED  
A new breed of creature edjed its way slowly up into the moonlight, then down to where the group couldn't see it. Tecna, his target, had fallen asleep once more next to Timmy. The creature growled, clicking its fangs and scraping a rock quietly with his claw.

The creature was called a Ghrinon- from a cunning, fast, and agile race capable of great power. They came in different elemets: Poison, Shadow, Fire, Ice, and Electric. The Ghrinon here was a Poison Ghrinon, capable of jabbing his apponents with his claw with its poison tip and sending his victoms to the ground in pain and sickness, causing them to faint. The Poison Ghrinon was black and green in color and was the most fierce of all the Ghrinons.

He edjed his way slowly around the camp, hiding from the watchfull eye of Brandon and the sleepy eye of Riven. It locked its eyes on Tecna. The best way he could get the poison to travel was to strike her chest- but he would have to go out in the open, a dangerous risk factor. But taking this risk was what he was sent by the Overloard to do.

Slowly it made its way into the center of the camp, its grey back shielding it from the watcher's eyes. Carefully, he placed his claw in-between two of Tecna's broken ribs, sliding the claw in through the clothing and bandages, tearing her flesh. Since she was asleep and the poison was numbing, she didn't feel a thing.

"Wha-" Riven said, turning around, then gave a loud battle cry. The Ghrinon stood on its two front legs, looking much bigger then he was. Everyone quickly woke up. "What is that awful thing!" Bloom cried, stepping backwards. "Tecna? Oh no, she's been stabbed by it!"

TO BE CONTINUED

Timmy gasped and quickly dropped down to Tecna's level, grabbing her hand. "Tecna! Tecna are you alive?" He said, eyes wide with terror. "Watch out, he'll poison you, Brandon!" Prince Sky called, noticing Brandon coming towards the creature.

"I've got it under control," Brandon insisted, parrying with his weapon. The creature tried jabbing him, but he evaded, trying to strike its feet. "Timmy! A little help first then we'll worry about her!"

Timmy frowned and put on his glasses, then grabbed his gun.

Musa quickly hit the creature from behind with sound energy. It turned around and hissed at her, giving Brandon long enough to lash its back. Bloom quickly launched the Dragonfire at it, causing it to crash into the side of the mountain, defeated.

Wordless, everone gathered around Tecna. The hole that was dug in her ribs was large, and not only blood, but a strange green fluid poured out of the injury. "Is she alive?" Riven asked, kneeling next to her. Timmy took out his health-seeking device. "Yeah, she is, she, being a fairy, couldn't die from that... but she's in critical health." Timmy replied. "But we have to wake her- just in case we-" Timmy gasped as his hand began to dissolve. He looked up at the moon- it had set!

"Girls, wake Tecna!" He said, his final words before he, Riven, Brandon, and Sky disappeared in a unison- back to Red Fountain. Stella frowned, sitting next to her. "Well, how are we going to do it?" She asked. "I don't wanna hurt her any more then she is."

Musa licked her finger and stuck it in Tecna's ear.

Tecna gasped and her eyelidss shot open. She swallowed, then said, "Musa?" She looked around. "Guys?" Her breath was rapid. Musa gave her a slight smirk. "Those wet willies work all the time." Then she frowned, "are you ok?"

Tecna shook her head. "My chest... the pain..." Her teeth chattered, and she shivered. "So... c... c...cold..." Bloom gave her a funny look. "How could you be cold? Its really warm over here. Tecna shivered, and her skin seemed to turn purplish peach. "I'm freezing..." She said and winced.

"Oh, poor thing..." Flora said, frowning. "Well, at least we know you're alive." Tecna shivered more. "W...what time is it?" She asked, looking over at Bloom. "Well, I think its around fourty-five minutes until we get out of here..."

"Bloom?"

"What?"

"I'm cold..."

Bloom frowned, then pulled a dead branch off of a tree. "Let's build a fire for Tecna." She told the others as they gathered firewood. Bloom laid rocks around the sticks, then blasted the sticks with the Dragonfire. "Does that help?"

Tecna nodded. "Thanks"

Finally, Bloom was in her room. The sun shone through her window. Flora quickly jumped out of her bed across from the room and ran to Tecna and Musa's room.

"Tecna, sweetie," she said, "I'm going to get you a few things, okay? You stay here for the rest of the day and we'll tell you how classes went." Tecna nodded. "Thanks, guys... you've been really nice to me. I'm so sorry I'm such a nuisence... I feel like I'm making your lives horrible."

Flora smiled. "Don't worry about it!" She said. Musa had given Tecna a few of her own bedsheets. "So how'd you get so cold?" She asked. "I think its the poison... I'll analyze it..."

She painfully pulled her arm out of the blankets and consulted her database. A hologram appeared, showing the venom and its outcomes. "Turns out the coldness is only the first stage... I can't believe this is going to happen to me..." She closed her hand.

Flora returned with some medicine, magic scrolls, a plate of food, a glass of water with ice, bandages, and a thermal heater. She placed the heater on the blankets and laid the rest of the items on the nightstand, then carefully re-bandaged Tecna's chest, using the medications to help the healing, then cast a spell on it. "We'll be in class, OK, Tecna? If you need me, page me- you always have that little pager with you."

Tecna took the triangle pager off of her vest. "Ok," she said. "Thanks, Flora."

The group left to their classes.

Bloom paused, hearing something in her mind. "Your friend will die one way or the other." The Overloard told her. "We'll kill her before you know it. You might as well kill her now to get her out of the misery she will be in..." Bloom gritted her teeth. "NO!" She said in her mind. "I won't let you do it! We all will destroy you!"

The overloard cackled. "That's just what you think... do you know who I am? I am eternal darkness!"

Bloom clenched her teeth. "You have no idea what I can do!"

TO BE CONTINUED

"Miss Faragonda?" Stella said, knocking on her door. "Come in," the fariy godmother replied. Stella walked inside slowly. She was the only one who's class was in freetime- it was that time of day when the Winx club went to seperate classrooms.

"The Terminal is really in the dream... we can't send more people to get it then already there." Faragonda gasped. "Oh... that's dreadful! I could try casting a spell, but it would drain all my magic..." Stella frowned. "And it even managed to get ahold of Tecna again. Do you want to go try and heal her? The poison made her go crazy almost!"

"Poor dear..." Faragonda said, looking at Stella sadly. "I really wish we could help you all defeat the Overloard, but the least I can do is tend to your friend's injuries... What about Bloom?"

Stella shrugged. "I think he's trying to wear down her defences, with Tecna disabled she might fall for him again. He's trying to kill Tecna so he can get to Bloom." Faragonda quickly told Stella to follow her outside. "I'm going to try my best to heal Tecna. I'll use many protection spells as well, but I need your help. I'm not going to let Icy do this to you girls..."

She opened their dorm door and quickly ran inside. Tecna, as Stella had predicted, had fallen onto the floor again, this time she was in obvious pain. "Faragonda...?" She said weakly, coughing. "Don't worry, I'm going to help you..."

She quickly put a spell onto Tecna, reducing her injuries slightly. Stella joined in, and the two tried their best to reduce Tecna's injuries to the minimum- but it didn't seem to do much for her.

It was almost as if her new injuries were perminate...

TO BE CONTINUED

Tecna's teeth chattered as she looked up at the headmistress. "Miss... miss Faragonda..." she said, "The overloard... he's going to kill us all..."

Faragonda frowned. "Don't believe him, Tecna! Don't believe him!" She said. "Whatever he's telling you and Bloom, trust me its not good. Believe in yourself, Tecna."

Tecna paused, her energy almost seemed to return as she tried to stand up, but couldn't because her knee was busted as it was yesterday. Stella helped her stand. "Well? What happened? Did the spells work?"

Tecna shrugged, "Let me cauculate..." She opened her hand, and a hologram appeared. "The poison... its gone!" She smiled, turning to Miss Faragonda. "But I'm still in horrible pain..."

Faragonda smiled, though her magic was drained, she trusted that Tecna and the others would know what to do to destroy the Overloard and his evil creations...

...for good.

"Well, its another night." Bloom said, entering the room. "I hope Tecna's okay," Flora said, immediatly walking over to Tecna's room. She seemed fine, lying in her bed, but otherwise the casts still remained tight on her broken injuries. "Hey guys," Tecna said, facing them.

"She's too weak to go back into the dream, she'd be killed on spot!" Musa said worriedly. "Maybe we should try another healing spell and see if we can at least heal her knee and leg," Stella suggested. "But I'm kinda drained from getting the poison out of her so, do you guys know any fracture-healing spells?"

"Yeah, I think so..." Flora said. "Yeah so do I." Bloom said also, facing Tecna. "So can you walk or not?" She asked. "Not horribly well..." Tecna said, "but enough that I'm sure I can handle a nightmare."

"I'm not letting you pull that 'I'm fine' thing off on me again," Bloom said, referring back to the time Tecna insisted she was fine when she really had a huge injury. "Come on, Flora, lets do this." Bloom said, getting her Winx ready. Tecna felt horribly embarassed to be the center of attention once more, but her injuries hurt less and less as Bloom and Flora combined their Winx.

"Great job, I think its working, what do you think, Tec?" Musa said. "I think it worked quite well..." Tecna said, attemtping to stand. She was able to stand, but was a bit unsteady. "My knee still hurts a little, but I'm sure everything will go mighty fine tonight..."

The clock struck 10. "Well, we can't sit here and let the Overloard plan some more devious assassianation plan." Musa said. "And the boys are probably already there..."

Bloom nodded. "I agree..." She took in a breath. "We're going to go to the tunnel- except... he's trying to tell me not to... Tecna... what if he kills you?" Tecna groaned. "Bloom, what did I tell you? He's lying, you know he is. Trust me, everything is going to be fine. I lived through being buried under boulders so I think I'd live through confronting the Overloard."

TO BE CONTINUED

Chapter Four: RARION

Materialization took place.

All of the Winx girls found themselves side-by-side, together.  
"Hey, I know this place..." Tecna said. "Yeah, me too. We're in the ravine"  
Flora replied. They were all floating on a small island in the river. "This is really unsteady..." Bloom said, then Winxed. "We're flying out of here."

Everyone else winxed, and Stella, Bloom, Flora, and Musa flew off the ground, leaving Tecna behind.  
"Um... guys?" Tecna said. "Oh, sorry, Tec, can you fly?" Musa asked. Tecna shook her head. "Try," Flora said.  
Tecna jumped, then landed hard on her injured leg. "Ow!" She said, falling over. "Well, THAT was a dud..." Stella said, then suggested,  
"Try again!"

Tecna jumped, hovered for two seconds, then landed. "I can't, my wings still won't work"  
Stella rolled her eyes, then flew down and carried Tecna. "A little help?" She said, struggling.  
"I'll help." Flora said, flying back down.

They carried Tecna up over the ravine- which was long and hard. "You FELL all the way down here!" Musa said, referring to when Tecna jumped down after Flora. "Yes..." Tecna said. "My back still hurts from where.  
that rock right there... scraped me." She said, pointing to a particular rock.

"Look, that rock has a piece of your shirt on it, Tecna!" Bloom said, picking it off the rock. "Oh and there's blood on it too! Wow, that had to hurt!" Tecna nodded, then grimaced.

At last, the group made it to the top of the ravine.  
The cave was still where it was, and the wall was still caved in.  
"Hey, Bloom!" Brandon said, running out of the cave, followed by Riven.

"Hey guys! Where's Timmy and Sky?" Stella asked. "They're somewhere around here.  
They'd meet us here in a minute... look, there they are now." Riven said, pointing.  
Riven and Timmy ran over a couple of rocks, joining the group. "Sorry abou the wait"  
Sky said. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah, we just need to get brave enough to go down into that creepy tunnel"  
Musa said, eyeing the tunnel.

The Overloard lived down there, no mistake.

TO BE CONTINUED

The group began their trek down into the tunnel.

Riven coughed and choked on something in the air, then said, "There's some kind of mist here... I can hardly breathe!" "Neither can I," Brandon said. "Foward march... or something..." Stella said, walking deeper still into the yawning chasm.  
It seemed to go on for miles on end- the darkness was so ensnaring, the group found themselves running into eachother.  
"Ow... hey, look!" Bloom said, shortly after Timmy nudged the handle of his gun into her back. "Do you see that?" She said, her voice becoming softer. "Yes, I believe I do... some kind of eerie green light." Tecna said, squinting.

It WAS eerie, and probably the most eerie thing the group has ever seen. The soft, green glow became brighter as they walked,  
and they soon came to realize that there wasn't just one of the green lights, but five. And they weren't green- they were actually red-  
but through all of the poisonous mist the light bled through as green to them- a smokey, green substance.

Suddenly all five of the lights went out, leaving the group breathing hard.

Then they opened again.

Musa shuddered, and was the first to realize- with her sonar ears, she could hear something... breathing... breathing.  
and a steady hearbeat. She was the first to talk. "Rarion..." She said, her voice choked.

"Welcome... to my home..." The groaning voice said, and suddenly the tunnel behind them caved in- blocking the way out. All the girls screamed. All the boys shook with fear and yelped with terror. Out of the walls jumped a total of eleven Ghrinons-  
Fire. Poison. Ash. Smoke. Dragon. Aqua. Numerous. Air. Earth. Electric. And the leader- Light of Shadow.

Suddenly there was a flash of pure light. "SUN POWER!" Stella screamed, light filled the chamber. Then she stopped cold.  
The most horrifying, the most dreadful, the most terrifying, the most evil looking thing Stella had ever seen, heard, or read about was standing right before her. She was too frightened to even scream, to let out a terrified yell.

But Tecna suddenly screamed- not out of fear or doubt, but out of rage. Anger burned in her eyes as she jumped off the ground,  
two Digital Triangles in her hands, and more well on their way.

She hovered and flew.

"Don't let him decieve you! Bloom! The Dragonfire is you! Its on your side!"

Bloom stood still, her breath stopped.

"BLOOM!" Tecna yelled. Brandon ran over to her, then fanned his blade out, followed by the other boys- except Timmy, who had a gun.  
"I am the monument... of all your fear..." Rarion growled, lifting Flora off the ground. Flora screamed loudly, wriggling in his grasp.  
"The harder you shake... the farther you will pull your own limbs from your body..." The Overloard grumbled. Flora stopped cold. He was trying to disembody her.

With his other tentecle, he grabbed Musa. "NO!" She screamed, as it attemtped to eat her. She grabbed on to his tooth and evaded the crunching. He was going to eat her.

A Ghrinon approaced Stella, and grabbed her neck, preparing to break her body and fling her into the wall.

Bloom paused. The boys tried their hardest to retrieve the girls, but they were being annhilated by the Ghrinon Swarm. Sweat flooded down Bloom's forehead. Her heart pounded like a drum.

"BLOOM!" Tecna screamed, she was snatched out of the air by the Overloard's tentecle.  
"Help! Bloom! Don't listen to him! He will kill us all!" Tears streamed down her neck as she watched Bloom.  
The tentacle wrapped around her neck tighter. "Bloom- don't... do... it..." Tecna growled, then made a peculiar chocking noise with her throat.

Bloom's eyes were filled with dread as she faced the Overloard.

"Bow down to me..." He said.

Bloom shuddered as she saw the grip of the Overloard's tentecle tighten on Tecna's neck- and the boys were being practically embedded in the walls of the cavern by their pursuers. Bloom watched with fear as all of her friends were beginning to be defeated.

"Turn back while you can!" The Overloard screeched. Bloom looked back at the cave wall, which was closed in the entrance.  
She could blast a way through...

She looked over at Tecna, who wanted to say something but her breath was obviously running low.  
"Tecna..." Bloom said, then watched her other friends- Musa was barely evading being crunched by the Overloard-  
Stella was about to be crushed herself- Flora seemed streached too far and torn, and all of the boys were singed,  
drinched, electicuted, and pummeled as far as they could handle- and Bloom herself was untouched.

"Bloom... save us..." Tecna said, coughing.

"RUN while you can!" The Overloard growled.

False. Bloom's powers told her that all the Overloard was, was false. He was lying. He was afraid of her.  
Bloom's teeth chattered with rage as she fluttered off the ground. "LET THEM GO!" She screamed, and her mind seemed to be taken over by something other then her- something within her- that allowed her to feel- to see what the Overloard really was...

Suddenly there was a blinding flash of light that filled the chamber. Bloom couldn't see, but she heard the Ghrinons squeal, the grunts of her friends released onto the ground, and the Overloard squealing with a yell so terrifying that it shook the cave itself- unblocking the way out.

The light vanished, and suddenly the Overloard and his followers lie on the ground, defeated. A triumphant sight-

"Yes!" Bloom said, so enjoyed that she felt more alive then she had the whole day. Everyone regained their footing,  
rejoicing in the tremendous victory brought on only by the Dragonfire.

-at least until what they saw happen next.

As the legends told, the Overloard suddenly began dematerialising, and in the place of the dead was a poisonous fume. "Don't breathe it! It could kill one in a matter of seconds!" Timmy yelled, gathering his will. "Go! Go! Go! GET OUT OF HERE!" Musa yelled, scrambling out of the Rarion's open mouth.

The group let off in a dead run towards the exit, many meters above ground, despite their injuries.  
Eight companions raced to the finish line- trying to savor their triumph so they could live to tell the tale.

Eight?

TO BE CONTINUED

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Where is Tecna!" Bloom said, fear in her voice. She looked back down the tunnel- the group was already halfway up.  
"Oh no, you don't think she-" Flora said, but Bloom cut her off. "You guys go! I'll go back and get her." Bloom took a deep breath,  
not waiting for protests, and flew as fast as her fairy wings could carry her back down the tunnel.

She searched high and low, left and right for her friend. At last, she reached the inner chasm and found her.  
Tecna was still wrapped in the Overloard's tentacle- she was alive, her eyes were open but she seemed wrong- something about her made Bloom shudder. Quickly, Bloom took Tecna out of the tentecle and flew back up the chasm, the jouney long and difficult, and her lungs were about to burst... At last, she appeared out of the cave and collapsed on the ground,  
breathing hard in the fresh air. She dropped Tecna on the ground, who was shivering uncontrollably.

"Is she alive?" Timmy asked, kneeling down next to her. Tecna's eyes seemed blank, but she was breathing, but her breath was more of a pained wheeze. "Oh no... oh no, oh no, oh no..." Timmy said, over and over. "What? What's wrong?" Asked Musa worriedly.  
"She..." Timmy gulped. "She had been strangled earlier... so she had no breath, until the Overloard released his grip on her in death- she had no choice but to let her instincts take over and..." He paused. "...and breathe the fumes..." She had been infected with the Overloard's poison-  
the last thing anyone would want.

Tecna's mind was going blank- suddenly she felt so hot she felt like she was melting- then the next split second she felt so cold it felt as if every vein in her body was frozen over, then suddenly heat took on again, then cold. "Look at her! That's not normal!" Stella said, touching Tecna's skin. "That's freaky!" She said, fear in her voice. "Its like her body tempature is changing from like, one hundred and fifty degrees to like, negitive thirty!"

Riven paused, then pointed to the moon. "Keep her alive- maybe we still have hope..." His fingers began disappearing. "Girls! You can do this without us for just one more hour! Look, the dream- its breaking everywhere! Be careful!" Riven and the other boys began vanishing- along with some of the dream.  
Bloom felt happy and horrified at the same time- the dream was collapsing everywhere- the death of the Overloard causing serious transformations- the once plantless dream was spreading into vegetation, and the nasty cave disappeared, along with a strange crystal air that sizzled up into the black sky. What the crystal air was, was a mystery,  
but for now, the Winx Club had to worry about keeping Tecna alive for one hour more, if they could...

"Tecna! Just keep breathing! Everything's going to be alright, as soon as we're out of here we're getting the nurse as fast as possible!" Flora said quickly,  
holding Tecna's hand. "The poison won't kill you, just stay with us!" Flora was crying up a storm, as well as the others. Tecna stayed with them- she, even though her mind was breaking, felt a tiny flicker of life within her...

...for now.

The heartbeat machine steadily beeped one at a time, zigzag lines going across the screen.  
Half of Alfea was in the large room, watching. Some of them didn't believe what had happened to the Winx Club and the boys in the dream, but almost all of them did, half-dead proof was lying in front of them.

A roar of a Red Fountain Craft engine boomed outside, then five minutes later, some of the boys, including Timmy, Brandon, Riven, and Sky entered the room. "Is she going to be alright?" Timmy asked, doubting everything.  
"We'll try as much as we can," Miss Faragonda said, glancing at the motionless Tecna on the bed. The shivering heat stopped, but her life was fading rapidly. "What the girls did in the dream took more willpower then imagined,  
and it can take Tecna's life," continued Miss Faragonda. "I suppose some of you knew her..."

Timmy paused, horrible thoughts flooding his mind. He hoped this would be a happy ending... He imagined visiting a graveyard every day, finding the words,

"In Memory of Tecna, Princess of Techno Dust- Third Vector of Binary Galaxy.

Died in a clash between monstrosities and nightmare wars- died by fighting an Overloard"

He imagined people holding memorial day- this day, August 25th in Alfea, in memory of the Overloard Defeat.

He imagined people looking back to these days with dread, always bringing up the word Overloard.

As everyone imagined what would happen, a dreadful noise suddenly filled the room. Terror and doubt flooded over Timmy's face as he looked over at the health detector, which suddenly let out a firm, steady note-

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

A long line came over the machine, announcing the stop of Tecna's hearbeat.  
Everyone gasped, the medications had failed. Many of the fairies- and even the boys-  
began crying-

especially Timmy.

"No... no..." Timmy said through his tears. Quickly, he shuffled past Miss Faragonda and Griselda, who were also crying over a loss they could not stop.

Quickly, Timmy stood over her, and everyone watched. Here he was- half of everyone he knew, staring at him-  
he was the center of attention- and everyone was staring at him and Tecna. He bent down to her level, took off his glasses,  
and kissed her strait on the lips- in front of everyone. All the fear was gone, all the shyness that held him back. How could he wait until she was DEAD to actually show how he truly felt about her? And now that oppurtunity left.  
Everyone gasped, then most of them felt horrible about the situation- she had a boyfriend, and she died.

Suddenly there was another sound.

Beep... beep... beep...

Her heart was throbbing again- she lives.

Timmy gasped. "Tecna!" He said, watching in complete awe as she opened her eyes- which were now green as they should be. "Timmy!" She said, breathing harder. "Why... why is everyone staring at me?"

"How... it can't be... its magic!" Griselda said, astonished. Timmy now knew what happened. That was who he was!  
Technology magic- that was his power, and it had always been. There was a logical explaination for how he brought Tecna back to life- not only his feelings for her, but he had actually removed the poison from her- without drawing it into himself! "I don't believe it..." Faragonda said, staring at Timmy. "You saved her! Bless you!"

Tecna smiled, then looked around. "Really... why is everyone staring at me? Did I die or something"  
There was no light- there was darkness. Surrounded by darkness, in a cold, dreary place. A familiar place.  
The revived Tecna shuddered- it couldn't be happening again! A creature stood next to her, then jumped- devouring her completely.

Tecna shot up from her sleep, sweat beaded her forehead. She looked around. It was just a dream! Just a dream! That meant the Overloard was truly gone! She sighed and sat back down, staring at a picture of her and Timmy playing on a video game console, laughing. She smiled. It was a happy ending after all. 


End file.
